a look.»
They pulled the bags into the kitchen.
«Frozen pizza!» Dave exclaimed.
«Chicken drowning in cheese!» Lee exclaimed.
«Arugula!» I chimed in.
«So, we have a giant box of frozen pizza, which, by the way, will go foul the day after tomorrow.» Dave chuckled.
«Plus a huge bag of chicken drowning in cheese and…» Lee looked at me, «what did you say?»
«Arugula.»
«Arugula?» He asked again and glanced at Dave, «are you joking? A giant bag of arugula?»
«Can someone please explain what these bags are? And where you got them?»
«One of our friends is closing down his store and we ended up with some of his groceries,» Dave explained.
«You chose a bag of arugula. A bag. Of Arugula. You can’t even buy food like a normal person!» Lee huffed and went to the bathroom.
«You moron! I didn’t choose it. They gave me food, so I took it. You should just be thanking me that it wasn’t a jar of hummus!»
«I don’t like hummus either.»
«No one likes hummus.»
«My dad likes hummus.»
Lee returned and sighed deeply, his eyes fixed on the bag of arugula.
«I know some good arugula recipes,» I volunteered.
«You see! And here you are acting like some hysterical little girl!» David said, throwing the bag of arugula at Lee.
«Are you guys hungry?» I asked, shooting David a look.
«Starving, to be honest,» replied Lee.
«I’ll make pasta with arugula and chicken drowning in cheese.»
That’s how we started informal culinary classes in the kitchen. The guys helped me cook, kicking and shoving one another all the while. Nonetheless, everything turned out delicious. It was a fun evening. We fell asleep early in the morning, surrounded by plates of pasta and a mountain of dirty dishes. I didn’t sleep long at all. As soon as I was up, I showered, changed and quietly went out onto the balcony.
«Hi.» Dave appeared at the balcony door.
«Did I wake you up?»
«No no. Hard to sleep, that’s all. Also, it’s really hot in there.»
«We were cooking all night; what do you expect?»
«Don’t even talk about food,» he clutched his stomach and made an exaggerated grimace.
«But you liked it, don’t lie.»
«That’s for sure,» he joined me, propping his elbows on the railing, «what were you thinking about?»
«The view. It’s beautiful.»
«Yeah… Los Angeles. The City of Lost Angels.»
«I could use some rain.»
«I like rain too,» he said, running a hand through his hair.
«Why’d you choose to come here of all places?»
«Did you never have a poster with a view of Los Angeles at night in your room by your bed?»
«Nope. But there was a fridge magnet with ‘Hollywood’ written on it.»
«I had that poster up on my wall for a long time. And I guess one day it felt like a sign. Of course, I had no idea how it got there.»
«Where was this?»
«When I was still in Boston, at my foster parents’ place.»
«Did you live with them for long?»
«Up until I was sixteen. They’re good people! But then, a little while later, the dad suddenly got paranoid about his daughter, I mean, my foster sister. Did I get that right? I’m her foster brother.» He chuckled. «Basically, they changed towards me after that. Things got pretty weird. Anyway, I’m pretty much a walking problem. You know, there’s a lot of stuff in the world that can’t be explained.»
«Like what?»
«Like when a mother leaves her kid, when people decide to inject heroin into their veins knowing that it’s the beginning of the end. When a person has everything: money, fame, looks, a yacht… mmm… and somehow becomes a drug addict. When one person cries and another laughs. When everyone looks for shelter from the rain and one person starts to dance. Lots of things that can’t be explained. Why things are one way and not the other.»
«What about even bigger issues? What’s our planet for, and for whom? Why do those little balls float in space, and what is space? And if the planets are going to fall, where does it all end? What are they going to crash into?»
David furrowed his brow thoughtfully,
«What if we’re just falling, and nothing ever ends?»
«I think it’s better not to ask questions, especially if you’re not sure you’ll ever get an answer to them.»
«Have you ever fallen in love?»
«No. You?»
«I had a thing.»
«A serious thing?
«More like… an encounter. We were two horny teenagers.» He chuckled.
«You still love her.»
«Why do you say that?»
«I can see it in your eyes.»
«Really?» A smile spread across on his face.
«Yep.»
«We were in the same grade. She had a tough relationship with her father; he made fun of her, and I think he went to jail for attempted assault. Basically, we had things in common, liked to get drunk… I was such a moron!»
«But you still love her.» I smiled.
«No I don’t.»
«That wasn’t a question.»
«There’s no arguing with you.» He got out a cigarette and a lighter. «I was a moron who didn’t value much, and destroyed much more.»
Dave glanced at me:
«Okay if I smoke?»
«Sure. What didn’t you value?»
«Life. Look at me.» He looked steadily into my eyes.
«…what?»
«No no! Look at me for real.» He stood in
